Kenya’s health officials have urged the public to remain alert following the confirmation of three new mpox cases, which ends a month-long period without any reported cases, raising the total to 17.
Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Health, Deborah Barasa, issued a statement on Friday evening announcing that the government has ramped up its public health response to the mpox outbreak. She urged Kenyans to postpone non-essential travel to areas with active disease transmission.
Barasa also reported that the three most recent cases are currently being managed, while 13 patients have fully recovered. Sadly, one death has been recorded.
“So far, 83 contacts have been identified, with 78 completing the required 21-day follow-up. Of these contacts, three have tested positive for mpox, and two remain under active follow-up,” Ms Barasa said.
She urged citizens to adhere to mpox prevention guidelines, which include avoiding close contact with infected individuals or their belongings, limiting sexual partners to reduce exposure, and practising good hygiene through frequent handwashing or using hand sanitisers.
Kenya’s screening efforts at 26 entry points have covered 1.7 million travellers. Vaccines are expected to arrive in December, as Kenya is one of five African countries scheduled to receive 50,000 doses of the mpox vaccine under a World Health Organisation-led initiative to curb the disease’s spread across the continent.
In addition to Kenya, several African countries with reported mpox cases, such as Burundi, Liberia, Uganda, and South Africa, have not seen any new infections in the past six weeks. However, Africa remains in the acute phase of the outbreak, with over 50,000 cases recorded this year, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mpox, formerly monkeypox, was first identified in laboratory monkeys in 1958. It is a rare viral disease typically spread through bodily fluids, respiratory droplets, and contaminated materials. Common symptoms include fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes.
